Delhi Pull Off Thriller Against Jharkhand to Enter Vijay Hazare Final

Chasing 200, Delhi were down and out at 149 for eight in the 38th over before Negi and Navdeep Saini (13 not out off 38) batted for almost 12 overs, sharing a match-winning 51-run stand for the ninth wicket.

Delhi, who have won the tournament once, meet the mighty Mumbai in the final on Saturday.

With his stellar effort, Negi has attracted attention after a long time, having slipped off the radar after bagging a million dollar IPL deal in 2016. The southpaw, who had also played a T20 for India in the same year, collected five fours and a six in his gritty knock.

Unmukt Chand, who made 17 off 13 balls, began the chase with a flurry of boundaries before falling to pacer Varun Aaron, driving the ball straight to Anand Singh at cover-point.

Jharkahnd medium pacer Anand Singh wreaked havoc by claiming three wickets as Delhi slumped from 51 for one to 87 for four.

Left-arm spinner Shahbaz Nadeem joined the party by bagging two wickets as Delhi collapsed to 123 for five to 149 for eight, putting Jharkhand on the verge of a famous win before Negi spoiled their party.

Sent into bat, Virat Singh’s half century helped Jharkhand reach a fighting total.

He stitched 55 and 44 runs partnerships with Nadeem (29) and Rahul Shukla (11) for seventh and ninth wicket.

At one stage, Jharkhand were struggling at 85 for six, with Navdeep Saini and Kulwant Khejroliya doing the damage.